Written by Jordan Lenssen. Photos by Raynald Bélanger, John Wakely, Brian Mundy.
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30 October 2014

Building and dressing up an already established sports car like the Audi TTS is no easy feat, but to do it in a way like Rui Paulo Nascimento did to clearly stand out from the rest takes vision and, more importantly, a great deal of execution. Along with his father being an established rally racer at the wheel of a Ford Cortina RS in 1970, Nascimento has a history of working with vehicles that break the mold, including a 1979 Pontiac Phoenix with a Nova SS block, 1990 Suzuki Swift GTI, and a 1990 RHD Skyline GT-R (R32), among many others. This TTS – while no longer in its black and red form – is a culmination of those years of experience and passion. Inspired by his love for German cars and touring car racing, Nascimento infused his TTS with some DTM inspiration that can be found front to back. It was a reflection of his past, his personality and his deep connection to motorsport – and as you can see with his fighter-plane update, his passion for German engineering has been taken to a whole new level.

LIGHTWEIGHT GOODS: With motorsport inspiration and performance at the forefront, Nascimento opted for carbon fiber where strength and lightweight matters: his front splitter, hood and rear spoiler are all dressed in wet.

BIG STOPPA’: Hidden not so discreetly behind these black XXR wheels are a set of Neo Motorsport 14.5-inch drilled and slotted rotors, which are clamped on by giant six-piston calipers of the same make.

SUBTLE & FUNCTIONAL: Nascimento carried his red/black theme inside, where you’re encouraged to look at the finer details. An NRG quick release hub, short throw shifter, custom seats and VAG Performance vent-mount display in the left-center pod are just some of the performance upgrades.

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